


Sunset

by NextWarden



Series: College AU (but with powers?) [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Awkwardness, Camping, Coffee, F/M, Flirting, Love Confessions, Renora, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29830170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NextWarden/pseuds/NextWarden
Summary: What she had expected was entirely different from that. Had she even been expecting anything? Maybe. Maybe she had, but not much then, not this. Rather something more akin to time passing and extended pining, stolen glances and shared contact retracted as soon as electricity broke the distance. Perhaps too a few words here and there, a few sentences even, if luck was on her side, but not much more. There should have been months remaining on the clock, years perhaps even, before the tunnel ended or the dam broke. And yet, here they were, a cool summer morning, watching the sun rise over the city from a high vantage point on its edge, feet dangling over the edge of the cliff, hair ruffled and skin sweaty, trying to catch their breaths after one of her trademark training session.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos
Series: College AU (but with powers?) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2176005
Kudos: 2





	Sunset

What she had expected was entirely different from that. Had she even been expecting anything? Maybe. Maybe she had, but not much then, not this. Rather something more akin to time passing and extended pining, stolen glances and shared contact retracted as soon as electricity broke the distance. Perhaps too a few words here and there, a few sentences even, if luck was on her side, but not much more. There should have been months remaining on the clock, years perhaps even, before the tunnel ended or the dam broke. And yet, here they were, a cool summer morning, watching the sun rise over the city from a high vantage point on its edge, feet dangling over the edge of the cliff, hair ruffled and skin sweaty, trying to catch their breaths after one of her trademark training session. It had been intense, as per usual, yet incredibly fun, as per usual too. That, despite all of Nora's initial excitement and subsequent grumbling as it stretched on. Despite his silence, she knew Jaune had been grumbling on the inside too, even if it had been months since he had last voiced it out loud, choosing the voice of Ren, which, ironically, was silence. Pyrrha could feel her muscles shaking as she struggled to keep the cup steady, hot coffee threatened to pour overboard. Even she, in all her strength and endurance, felt the aftermath of such a workout. Maybe she had pushed a tad too far… She'd have to check that later. For now she was sitting silently, enjoying the cool breeze in her hair and the delightful sunlight on her skin. She had almost forsaken that for a bath in the nearby lake, as had the ValkyLie duo, but had decided against it when seeing Jaune sit in the sun. The fact that the sight had made her catch her breath was maybe to blame. The calm yet strong shoulder and faint humming of a song she knew she knew yet couldn't place may have too. If he hadn't been glowing it had definitely seemed like it. Although that fact was no news to her, he'd been brightening her vision for a while now.

She'd almost finished her cup, eyes closed and breathing almost steady again, when she heard rustling to her side. With a half open eye to the side she spied Jaune stretching legs then arms and neck before startling slightly as he noticed she was sitting beside him. Apparently the bumbling blonde -- the third one Pyrrha knew, she noted; had to be something in the hair… -- had surprisingly forgotten her presence. His focus probably having been on his inner self.

"Oh," he chuckled weakly, "forgot you were there, sorry."

"Lost in thoughts much?", she smiled, taking one of her last sips if she knew anything about coffee.

It flowed down her throat soothingly as he faced the scenery before them again, his brows furrowing slightly.  
"Yeah, you could say that."

She would have asked what was worrying him had she not seen the soft smile that had appeared on his lips too. He'd probably lost himself in a nice place, one of the many temples of his inner sanctum into which he often retreated, she found. It had puzzled her at first, how his smile could go from big and bright to this sort of subdued contentment. Almost worrying even, as he appeared to slip out of reality. She'd gotten on board the train of understanding quickly, though, with the enlightenment of Ruby. The bubbly girl had explained -- or at least attempted to -- her land of dragons and magic, of starfaring among strange and wondrous sights. She often lost herself in her own mind, welcomed it even, when she had moments to herself, and she'd recognized Jaune to be the same. That was probably why the two enjoyed each other's presence, they could spend hours chatting away of things meaningless yet not so much, interrupted by equally long pauses without it ever becoming awkward. Pyrrha could do that too, but it was different. Her excursions within her psyche were less about wondering and more about uncovering and understanding, either herself or others. She had always been down to Earth. That didn't mean doing anything was any less fun or any easier however, the distractions were just as present in and out, they were just more realistic. That's how she'd ended up spending the better of three years pushing it back again and again.

First it had been because he'd had eyes elsewhere. His heart had been turned towards another star, pulling at its strings. She'd seen the tension in them, how gravity made it uncomfortable and awkward on the blonde. How could she not have? Not noticing it was like trying not to think about cats in a cat café in Blake and Yang's company. Trust her, she'd tried. Yang had happily made a few lien that day. Down to earth yet no smarter for it, she sighed. Her stubborn will to do it on her own terms had spiralled within her indecision at why he would ever look towards her in that manner. True, she was Pyrrha Nikos, star athlete and golden girl extraordinaire, respected by many and desired by the others. Yet that status had never amounted to much drowned in the discordant chorus of unforgiving wanting and unwanted giving. How it had grown to that point she could try to explain: an expectant family, a desire to prove herself, the fact that it was actually fun to see herself become not just good but great at what she tried; but it would be a story of its own. The achievements had taken over her life so much so that she had not realized how heavy they rested on her shoulders until the burden had been alleviated, then shared and almost entirely lifted, by a few fated meetings.

Her group, first and foremost, Nora and Ren, the two ends of the spectrum -- which one, she couldn't say -- and their strangely collected antics (surely a good mix of their two personalities, Nora being the destructive driving force of the duo and Ren the subtle yet equally prickly voice of smartypants, if not reason). Jaune had offered something different, something less grand and more true, simple friendship, untethered from anything else. He'd been, and still was, completely flabbergasted to be in the close circle of the Pyrrha Nikos, obviously. And it had shown at first. Still, it had not affected his openness and his genuine desire to get to know her better or to spend time with her. He had offered unconditional camaraderie and she'd found she hadn't known what that was before then, to her eventual dismay. Years of her life lost to the pursuit of perfection, for what? It had taken time to get around to accepting that, even more so after the encounter with Cinder in the midst of her second year. But they'd stuck with her, even when she hadn't been able to even put a foot in front of the other.

She'd found solace in Yang as the "dragon fist" had also suffered a serious injury around the same time. The wild blonde had been the one to instigate the whole affair in the first place, meeting Pyrrha during training and sticking with her after seeing she too was one to not shy away from serious straining of the body. They'd become frequent training partners from then on, Yang eventually introducing her to her own bunch of misfits. Event that had sparked the true beginning of Ruby and Jaune's strange kindling, reconnected Pyrrha with the cool proficiency of Weiss Schnee -- which she had met years before at a tournament -- and introduced her to the seemingly reserved but darkly mischievous sharp tongue of The Belle, as Yang had taken to call Blake. That had also been the unfortunate beginning of the explosive chemistry created by her own carrot top and the grinning blonde, which had admittedly gotten them into more shenanigans than she'd even hoped to experience in her life. And had been the spark of what would be a painful thorn in her smile for a while, the meeting of Jaune and Weiss. He'd barely made it into her gaze but she'd definitely caught his. The snow-haired girl had surprisingly somehow taken to Pyrrha, out of a sense of her equal work ethics surely, agreeing to Jaune's invitations to meet with their group more often.

It hadn't been until she'd seen Ren's gaze that she understood the truth behind that of the Schnee. It was always fleeting, coated in the same colour as the bubbly girl that was never found very far from her, and eerily similar as to how Jaune looked at her. Pyrrha had tried to let her down gently, which had admittedly worked much better than she'd hoped despite all the sputtering and outraged coughing that it had induced - she'd never been one to hide her thoughts if the need was ever felt. It had put a damp on her friendship with Weiss for a while but that had resolved itself with time and had even had the younger Schnee come to her to thank her for the kindness of her words and her honesty, and maybe a life changing realization too. Pyrrha had been glad to have found a friend in Weiss, just as much as the petite woman had expressed her gladness at having found one in Pyrrha. Jaune, of course, had been oblivious to all of this, not even getting the hints that a blue-haired transfer, apparent ex of the heiress, had been dropping as soon as he and the third bumbling blonde -- the individual not formerly known as Sun, the Aramis to Nora and Yang's Athos and Porthos -- had noticed her friend's plight.

It had taken a drunk session of truth or dare, a confounding kiss and a disastrous follow up between the white-haired girl and her bubbly red-tipped friend, sending them running into the night, one trying to flee the shameful consequences of her actions and the other wishing to comprehend what had just happened, to clue him in. She'd seen the understanding dawn in his groggy eyes and almost heard the cracks in his heart, they had shown in his jovial demeanor the rest of the night. For the rest of the semester too. The second reason had obviously then been because of his broken heart. She'd tried to help but her desire to be there felt laden in her own wants, so she'd danced between the edges, trying to comfort without taking advantage, trying to be there for her friend without letting hope creep in through the back door.

Then, to her absolute disbelief, it had been because he'd actually shied away from her gaze. The tell had been brief and would have been almost impossible to spot had he not been doing it almost every time their eyes met. She'd put that on the account of her being clad in sportswear, the first time, then on him having made an utter fool of himself the second. But the third time, in the coffee shop, while they were studying, and she caught him staring, she'd taken note of how strange it was. Then, each tally to the 'I will not look you way when you look back' box had made its way into her mind, and slowly, despite her best efforts, into her heart. It had taken him a while but she realized he'd begun looking at her the way she hoped he'd never noticed she was looking at him. Or perhaps she'd hoped he'd do exactly that, she couldn't be sure. The way he'd looked at Weiss until recently. No, differently, there seemed to be something more. Perhaps the months spent together training, studying, having fun, relaxing, being there for the other when needed. She couldn't say, although that was definitely what had made her fall for him. He was there, there for it all, him and his overwhelming kindness. Because yes, once she'd realized the truth behind his gaze, once hope had morphed into almost knowing - almost knowing which Ren had once again cemented, in between Nora 'Lacking-in-Subtelty' Valkyrie's eyebrow wiggles and bright smirk. Jaune had not caught on, and she didn't know if she wished he had or not.

That day of realization had been the best and worst of her life. She liked and was liked back, and that scared her as much as it elated her. Yes, to the outside world she was Pyrrha Nikos, the colossus of an achiever of Beacon U. But that didn't mean her mother had bathed her completely in the Styx, her footing was clay-weak when it came to meaningful relationships. Oh she loved her friends, she cherished them and would do anything for them, but the fact that this was a one way street, the possibility of unrequited feelings had shadowed her all her life. So she gave and let others take, perhaps that would make them stay. It had for her now close group of friends, her family if she was honest. It had and it had not because she gave, or at least not only, not mainly. It had because they loved her too. And that was great and all but did she deserve it? Despite all she had achieved she couldn't help doubt and its sultry voice as it whispered venom in her heart. She liked him, a lot, and he liked her. But was she worth it? Did he really like her back as she liked him? Did he like her or did he like the Pyrrha Nikos of legends, the one Yang loved to yell about atop the gym's roof at two in the morning after a round of drinks? The one Weiss couldn't help be revere despite her obvious flourish of talent? The one Nora and Ren had tried to erect into the living goddess they believed she deserved to be seen as through a flurry of heartfelt proclamations and silent acquiescence? Did he like her or did he like the idea of her? And how disappointed would he be when he realized how small and scared she was on the inside? How normal she was on the outside. She didn't have the assets of Yang, she didn't have the sultriness of Blake, she had none of the bravado that Sun used to blind his conquests - much to Neptune's pain. The poor lad had taken to wearing sunglasses indoors and at night when the faunus was around. She had none of the fire that Nora blazed all year long, none of the elegance that the younger Schnee tried to impart to her cutie pie of a companion. She was only Pyrrha Nikos and that scared the shit out of her because who would want Pyrrha Nikos for who she was and not who she pretended to be? Not Jaune.

At least that's what the doubtward spiral had been hammering to her when she'd been found late at night, tears running down her sparse freckles and air refusing to leave her chest. Blake had immediately known, somehow, and Yang had sprung into action. Nora had been called and soon, it seemed as if the whole girl force of the academy had been summoned. A feelgood slumber party and very passionate speeches about her crushing thighs and her blazing hair later, and she found herself with a new appreciation of Gandalf and what he'd done for Theoden. She had not been made a woman anew, not immediately at least, it had been a long and continuous process But when even Winter Schnee had come to slap some sense into her during a shopping outing, even she had to admit: maybe she was quite as desirable as others made her to be and perhaps it was of her own doing and not because a hologram of her perfect self was constantly projected over her. To this day she wasn't sure she deserved all the praise she got. She still felt she was just a normal girl trying her best to succeed, but she at least knew it wasn't completely groundless and she deserved to be proud of who she was and what she had achieved.

That realization, slowly trickling into her being, had come with another one, unnoticed at first yet somehow an undeniable truth once she'd recognized it: she loved Jaune for all his awkwardness and fidgetery and maybe, just maybe, he returned the sentiment in kind. She reserved herself the right to emphasize on the maybe, just in case, and because she damned well deserved to make her own choices. All of this, however, did not mean revealing her feelings was any easier. It did mean that she did not shy away from his anymore, though. So, progress? Gazes, she held. Touches, she did not retract from, sometimes even leaning into. Words, she said for what they were and what they meant, not concealing. She knew how he felt, she knew how she felt, and perhaps waiting too long was not a good idea, but she also enjoyed reveling in the love that radiated from him at times like these, when she was around, when he thought about her, when he wrote about her. Oh yeah, she'd seen the notebook. Or, at least, one of the floating pages that had drifted out of it as she'd been searching for her headphones one morning before going for a run with Yang. No name had been scrawled across the page in semi-messy yet endearing writing, but there was no need.

It wasn't so much the words that had enlightened her but the title, a simple date. One that she had remembered well: that of her incredible victory in the national bouts a few weeks prior. He'd been there to cheer her on from start to finish. He must have forgotten his notebook and had scrawled the poem on a piece of paper he'd found lying in his bag, surely, adding it to the collection afterward. She remembered the giddy smile that had torn through her initial frown, the slight wetness in her eyes at the realization that that was how he saw her, and the heat in her cheeks at the quickly rising shame. It was not her place to snoop, so she slid it back into the notebook which she placed back on the pile of things on the shelf. She'd only glimpsed at the words for a moment and time had done its duty, fading them away as it passed, but two verses remained with her to this day.

_Et alors ta crinière de soleil couchant_  
_coule sur ma peau comme le jour sur l'horizon._

The heat and colour in her cheeks had barely been contained until the run had begun but if Yang had noticed, she had blamed it on the pre-run warm-up that Pyrrha had gone through to join her on the other side of the campus. For the next few days it had felt as if summer had been in full bloom despite it being mid-february. She hadn't said anything of course, had tried to not shy away from interactions with Jaune either so as not to give any indication of what she knew. And life had resumed as such. She, struggling with showing, and him with concealing. It hadn't bothered her too much, allowing her to simultaneously revel in the attention and to return it when she deemed it safe, and to watch him come to grip with his feelings, all the while focusing on her studies. She was not a monster and had been actually dropping hints, hints she knew he'd picked up on, at least in part. Yet he hadn't made a move. Neither had she, to be truthful, not for lack of wanting, rather for lack of knowing how… Also, maybe, if she was entirely honest, because some part of her still felt hesitant at believing what she knew to be almost certainly real. Also, also maybe, because Pyrrha found it somewhat fun to watch him flounder a bit. She was never mean about it (or at least tried her best not to be) and never shied away, but never was proactive either, some part of her wanting him to make the first move, the one to initiate, to be sure he was sure. Yeah, not scared my ass!

They'd decided on a week-end retreat a couple of weeks before, choosing one where they did not have too much work to do and one where the weather promised to be nice (that particular gamble had paid off) and had chosen to come up to the heights surrounding Vale. The presence of a lake nearby had been a very much appreciated bonus. Especially by Nora who'd spent almost all of the previous day either sunbathing or dipping in it. That morning she'd woken up early to get some training done and had been pleasantly surprised to find the others joining her not long after. Complaints aside, it had been fun, and even more so when freedom had come at last and the calls of the lake had made themselves heard. At least according to Nora. Probably to Ren too. Pyrrha knew that despite all his silence and impassiveness, he was as much a lover of life as he was of Nora. Jaune had decided to stay behind to cool off with a nice coffee on the nearby ledge and she'd decided to join him. Which sort of led back to where they were now. She, sipping the last of her beverage, and he, looking far into the horizon, apparently trying his best not to avert his gaze from it anymore.

She contemplated going for a refill when she calculated that in three more sips, however small they were (and she didn't enjoy making them smaller than necessary) she'd be done. Yet she didn't move. She was too comfortable to do so. Plus, if she did, she knew she'd have to stretch her increasingly sore limbs. A few more minutes. Perhaps it also occurred to Jaune as he spoke again.

"Hey, Pyrrha?"

"Mmhmm?"

"I've, uh, sort of been thinking…", he added, letting his voice die down, still without looking at her.

"You know what Nora has to say about that…"

He scoffed at her smirk.

"Yeah, I do," his smile turned wistful and she felt this maybe needed her a tad more serious.

"What about?"

Jaune's hesitance was visible. He cleared his throat.

"About a lot of things."

Huh, well that cleared things out.

"I mean, about myself, about Uni, about you guys."

"Uhuh," she encouraged him gently.

"I, uh, I've been thinking about these past few years and how things have changed so much." He paused and she let him collect his thoughts. Two sips.

"How I've never had such good friends until now - I mean, you know, I've had friends before, good friends, but you, Nora, Ren, Ruby, Weiss", to his credit he didn't flinch at the name, "Blake and Yang. Sun and Neptune too. And then there's Penny, and Illia, I mean, even Winter is bearable…"

They both chuckled at that. The ever cold and upright Schnees all had something that ended making them melt, it seemed, each a personal set of kryptonite. Winter, although more secretive about it than her already reserved sister, had not been immune to it. She'd mellowed over the past years, if one were to believe Weiss. And Pyrrha could, although it wasn't as if both were exactly friendly, she'd felt the interactions with the elder sister warm from a freezing blizzard to a cool wind, which was an achievement in itself.

"And, I know I've said it multiple times already," Jaune continued, "but I do love you guys. I wasn't exactly the most outgoing or assured kid when we met but it's thanks to you if I'm where I am today."

Pyrrha nodded at that. More as a way to empathise than a direct assent to his words. They'd all been a little broken before meeting each other and, not to say that they were all in pieces or even completely repaired now, but they'd found a way to help each other throughout the years, the close camaraderie within the group being both cause and effect.

"You in particular, Pyr."

This time he turned to look at her. One sip.

"You've been there for us, for me since the beginning. And I know that's just who you are," he added, referencing a conversation they'd had a while before when she'd broken down in front of him. One of the first times. They'd spent the better part of the night lounging on the roof, watching the stars, as they talked their hearts away. Well, as she talked her heart away, at least, finally coming clean with her doubts and uncertainties. The bee-induced intervention had not happened yet, and it wouldn't have if she'd had another one of these nights with him, but he'd gone back home for a few weeks and things had piled up and, well, things had gotten worse before they'd gotten better. They were better now, she knew it, she knew he knew it, he was just being his dorky self, trying to salvage pots he still had to break. "But, I mean, you're here for people and that's just wonderful of you, Pyr, you are a wonderful person, I want you to know that."

His smile was shy yet contagious, almost overbearing in its sincerity. So much so that she couldn't help her own as it grew on her face, rendering her last sip quite difficult to ingest without spilling it everywhere. She managed nonetheless.

"I also want to thank you. I don't know if I have. But yeah, thank you…"

Silence again.

"Anyway, I'm rambling. What I mean to say is that you've been there for me and I can only hope that I've been there for you when you needed it."

"You have," was all she said.

All she needed to say. Jaune knew he'd been there, he'd been there to know it. Still, it seemed to reassure him and he nodded.

"I tried. I'm… uh, not very good at those kinds of things."

He scratched his neck. You don't say, she thought, hiding her smirk behind her cup. Not that she was any better.

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is that, you're a good friend. One of the greatest, most precious ones I have, actually."

This time he did have the decency to let colour rise to his cheeks. Then, when she expected him to continue, he remained silent. She turned towards him again, she'd turned away to conceal her smirk, only to find his eyes fixed on hers, his blue eyes peering into hers. What he found there must have reassured him enough as he cleared his throat nervously and squared his shoulders as if he was readying himself to fight off a grimm.

"What I… what I actually mean to say, Pyr, my point with all of this, is that, uh… I've been stupid for a while. Been putting something off for too long. And I don't- I don't know. I don't mean to scare you but… but I'm just gonna say it, okay?"

She nodded, swallowing momentarily forgotten.

"Right, uh… well, we've been friends for a while now and I've been very grateful to you for being by my side for all this while." As if it was something he wasn't entirely sure he deserved. Credit where credit is due, he did not flinch either when she glared at him, as if he'd known it would come. "And", he continued, "I've loved every second of it. Being friends with you is just… wonderful. You're kind and thoughtful and strong and, well, beautiful, and you always make me feel welcome and included -- since the beginning, even when others wouldn't -- and I- I can't thank you enough for that. But, you see, the thing is, I… I don't want that anymore. I mean! I do, I do!" He floundered a bit as she frowned and almost opened her mouth, anger being the last thing on her mind now. "It's- it's just… It's just I can't help but want more than that, Pyrrha. I love being your friend, but I think- no, I know I want us to be more than that." His voice was trembling at that point, a complete antithesis to his steady gaze. He quickened his pace. "If I'm reading this right and I'm not mistaken, you feel the same way about me. Or at least some way about me. Hopefully. I know I can be oblivious and dumb some times. And maybe I am here and maybe you don't want what I do and that's perfectly okay but I just wanted to tell you I felt I had to tell you because you deserve to know and I feel it's not fair to you to hide it any longer but I don't expect anything in return it's fine if you don't love me the way I love you because… because…", he simultaneously seemed to be searching for the right words and realizing he'd just used them, "'cause I do love you Pyrrha."

Oh. As his speech quickened even more and became an almost unintelligible mess, she was trying to take another sip of her coffee and finding her gulp lacking the echoes of the now cold beverage. Oh. Right, her cup was empty. Distantly she acknowledged the thought of refilling something with whatever there was at hand but her mind was whirling around so wild and distracted it was a miracle she still knew what drinking was.

"I've been in love with you for a long time now. You're just… everything. And I can't help but think about you all the time and wonder what you'd want to eat in the morning and what you'd say if you saw that funny fat bird in the park, or how you good you feel against me when we hug or how devastatingly sweet you smell all the time… And I'm not even talking about those moments you tuck your hair back when you think, or the sheer number of people who look up to you and- and I'm rambling again, sorry… I'll shut up now…"

There was another silence, long and lonely as they'd each turned away to watch the green of the distant trees sway slowly in the wind. Both feeling the heat of the sun on their cheeks. Try as she could, Pyrrha didn't manage to stop the slow morph of surprise into a large and giddy smile as the silence spread over them. Not uncomfortable, albeit a tad tense.

"You are a star, Pyrrha Nikos, and I can't help wanting to gaze at you."

She heard him say. She also heard herself giggle at the words. Giggle. Her. That was supposed to be Ruby's field of expertise, not hers! He turned towards her at the sound, his eyebrows high and his mouth open in a circle.

"And you have a way with words, Jaune D'Arc. Truly a poet," she added, trying her best to suppress her trembling hands -- again! -- as she placed the cup on the ground.

His eyes widened even more and for a while he was frozen. Eventually he seemed to notice the beaming smile she was displaying and he relaxed.

"And I know", she said after a while.

"What?", it was more than a squeak than anything.

"I know that you love me. At least I was pretty sure you did," the colour which had faded from his face had now returned, glowing hotter than ever. "I do too. Love you, I mean. I have for a while."

She pondered for a second before continuing.

"You are someone who deserves notice just as much as I do, perhaps even more. You are a good friend, an excellent friend. I couldn't wish for more. You are kind and generous, sweet and understanding, you love others for what they are, and even when you are your dumb, fumbling self, I can't help the love I have for you. So, yes. I won't pretend to have a way with words, not like I know you do, but yes, I do."

Either the morning training had been more intense than she thought or getting this off her chest had proven to be much more of an effort than she'd thought because the second she let the words out she felt her limbs lose any strength she'd had until then. Had she not been half propped against a dried tree trunk, she'd probably have crumpled straight to the ground.

"You… you do?"

"Mmhmm," she nodded in response.

This time it wasn't the apprehension that made it difficult to respond by anything other than a hum, but rather the joyful smile that made her throat entirely unable to articulate anything coherent.

"You do," he repeated, as if unable to believe it until he'd said it, and smiled.

Oh, that damned smile. Many had said that about her own, she'd heard the rumors. Many had said it about Yang Xiao Long, especially when the bee to her bumble was anywhere nearby. But Jaune's smile, at that moment, felt like it was on a different plane of existence entirely. It almost rivalled Ruby's, and that was saying something. The two dolts, as Weiss eloquently phrased, really were made to enjoy each other's company, weren't they?, Pyrrha realized. Now, she was one to enjoy romance, saying the contrary would have been a lie. Blake could attest to that. She'd read about love and seduction and soul mates and all that but had always enjoyed it remotely, by proxy. For too long it had felt that it was not hers to have. Not to say that in that instant she'd have believed, no, she was down to Earth like that. But, if one were to make a comparison or a metaphor about the whole situation, had they been in a movie or a book, now would have been the perfect moment. There were no fireworks, no symphonic orchestras, just a good old happy butterfly knot in her tummy and a not unpleasant buzz in her head. If she had one of her own to make, however, it was that until now the world had been beautiful but slightly out of focus, and the next second it had become sharp and detailed. As if a television in black and white until then had suddenly switched to Technicolor, making everything instantly more vibrant. And if she were to adopt Nora's own words: it was like having watched half a movie in crackling mono before having the audio suddenly swapped for some Dolby 5.1 Atmos TH-motherfucking-X, or something. There was, she noted, a skip in her usually steady heartbeat. Or multiple, actually.

"I do," she giggled again. Giggled! Like a schoolgirl.

"Wow. I-", Jaune began.

"Was not expecting that?", she interrupted.

"Actually, no. Not- not really. I, uh, wasn't… sure?"

Gently she placed a hand over his, intertwining her fingers in his once she felt he wouldn't move it, and maybe -- just maybe -- so that he wouldn't run off as easily.

"Well you can be now."

There was another silence, long but comfortable. They looked in each other's eyes. Just looked, as stupid as it sounded. Then Jaune blinked and tensed, seemingly taking in the situation for what it truly was for the first time.

"So," he said, his smile only wavering slightly.

"So…", she echoed, her cheeks not even hurting.

"I guess… boyfriend/girlfriend?", was what he managed in all his poetic eloquence, the cringe immediately taking over his features.

Again. He'd made her giggle again. Snort a little even, maybe. Though if he didn't mention it, she'd never admit to it. That was the other Xiao Long-Rose sister's field of expertise.

"Yes, I guess boyfriend/girlfriend," she nodded, her hand over her mouth to prevent any other unwanted sound from escaping.  
He winced and passed his free hand along the whole of his face.

"Sorry for being so wordy and smooth…", he groaned.

"It's okay. I did not giggle and snort repeatedly, after all," she offered with an amused shrug. "And I trust you to write it out better than that."

Okay, maybe she'd mention it once, but only to Jaune and no one else. Not before many years had passed, if ever, and never, ever in front of either Yang or Nora, or she'd never hear the end of it.

"That's true. You did not, not even once."

The mischievous twinkle in his eye was compensated by the warm embrace she felt around her hand. He'd turned his own around and had gently captured her fingers with it.

"You know I do love you with all your awkwardness, right?", she'd felt the need to clarify.

"I hoped as much. You'd have to, anyway, I don't quite plan on parting with it soon."

"If ever."

"If ever."

Okay, now her cheeks were starting to feel the strain of the dumb smile that had been plastered on her face for the longest time now, but she felt nowhere close to having it weaken. She'd have to massage them later on. For now, she would enjoy this moment as long as it lasted, she swore into the void that extended between them and the distant Vale, swinging her legs like a child to whom one would have offered candy. Or like a Ruby for whom Weiss would have baked cookies. Minus the squealing and the jumping around. Yep, that was definitely what a sugar high felt like.

…

And enjoy the moment they did. For a while longer than she'd thought, even. The whirlwind and her childhood friend had apparently taken their sweet time in the water and had only come back when Ren's shivers had been too much for Nora to help with in conventional, PG-13 ways. Which had apparently not prevented them from doing away with the rating anyway, from the way one was quietly disheveled and the other broadly gloating. Pyrrha almost teased as Ren went to find a towel to straighten his unruly hair. Almost. And she would have too, despite her reservations and the menace Nora proved to be to any who would attempt any sort of teasing or challenge in her presence, if it hadn't been for her greeting them before she could say anything.

"So, was coffee any good," she paused dramatically, giving her mischievous grin the time to grow, "miss Gigglesnorts?"

Pyrrha heard Jaune emit some sort of strangled yelp, and felt herself almost freeze and melt at the same time. How?! The question came to mind immediately. How had she known? Nora only raised a mocking but decidedly knowing eyebrow. Pyrrha barely managed to keep her cool and a straight face before replying.

"Yes," was all she managed to reply, cringing internally at the poor Jaune who was now coughing his lungs out in order not to suffocate.

A silent plea to delay questioning to a later time, plea which, surprisingly, had been accepted by the redhead, and a stretching session later, she found herself in her tent, changing out of her sweaty garments into proper clothes for the day. Only then did she notice her phone displaying the unintended outgoing call.

"Oh no…", she groaned.

"Oh yes!", she swore she heard coming from the nearby tent.

…

It was late at night, a few days later, when Jaune finally caught on to what Pyrrha had said. There she was, cuddled into him as they slept, her breathing even and soft against his skin. He'd been replaying the events of the past week in his mind, still having difficulty believing it had happened at all. Oh, the taunting and teasing from their groupmates had been assurance enough that it had, in fact, happened indeed. They were together. He'd actually managed the impossible. But replaying the events and letting words come to him for later immortalization led to a sudden realization: she'd known he'd write about it. Did that mean she'd read his notebook? When? Had she read the whole thing? Had she seen the- oh god, had she seen the drawings? He tensed and paled at the thought. Then he remembered he'd written most if not all of it in French. Then he remembered it was Pyrrha he was thinking about, in all her perfection of course she knew French... Even if what she said was true, even if she loved him as much as she said and had shown in the past few days, she wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready for this… His panic must have been quite obvious as he felt her stir beside him. Her sleepy voice wondering if he was okay. And, ultimately, he knew he was. If she had read his notebook and was still eagerly lying in his arms, then it had to mean something good, right? Still, as he managed to relax enough to get her to drift off again, he didn't find sleep immediately. Only when he'd lost himself in the freckles which dotted her face and let the sweet aroma of her hair fill his consciousness had he managed to let his mind off the stress-inducing idea of Pyrrha Nikos having read the words she'd inspired him to write, and seen the doodles he'd made of her… of them…

Only when, the next morning, she'd assured him she'd only seen and read one poem and only by accident, did he finally truly relax.

"Which one?", he'd asked.

\---

17/12

Tu es faite de feu et de poussière d'étoile,  
Tu es faite d'émeraude et d'ichor,  
Le monde est ton pinceau et tu en es la toile,  
Chaque minute est ta scène, chaque endroit ton décor;  
Et je suis spectateur de cette symphonie  
Qui joue de mon battant et de mes insomnies.  
Derrière le projecteur je trace les ombre chinoises,  
Saccadées, indistinctes, trépidantes et sournoises.  
Par chance quelque fois, ou par jeu du destin,  
J'aperçois les fils qui tirent les ficelles  
De l'ode captivante que tu danses pour les cieux.  
Tu es le lion et la vie est ton festin,  
Mais parfois tu trébuches, tu chancelles  
Sous le poids de ce cadeau des dieux,  
Et dans le miroir où chacun y perd un peu de soi,  
Du doigt les formes touchant,  
Doucement tu souffles une vieille oraison.  
Parfois, parfois, c'est toi qui m'aperçoit,  
Et alors ta crinière de soleil couchant  
Coule sur ma peau comme le jour sur l'horizon.

**Author's Note:**

> I never feel anything I write is good enough to be shared. This does not break the cycle. But I had fun writing it, so, there's that.
> 
> Pyrrha and Jaune are pure sweetness.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
